Candidates for 2025 THA Board of Trustees

Cris C. Daskevich, FACHE, MHA/MBA
CEO CHRISTUS Children’s Hospital & SVP, Maternal & Pediatric Services for CHRISTUS Health
CHRISTUS Health
San Antonio, TX

Ms. Daskevich serves as Chief Executive Officer of CHRISTUS Children’s and Senior Vice President of Maternal & Pediatric Services for CHRISTUS Health. Prior, she served at Texas Children’s Hospital for over 21 years, departing as a Senior Vice President with executive responsibility for multiple operational entities including Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, Texas Children’s Women’s Specialists, Business Development, Government Relations, and Texas Children’s Global Health. She was recruited to help CHRISTUS Children’s and CHRISTUS Health become the preeminent provider of pediatric and high-risk maternal care in San Antonio, South Texas and across the CHRISTUS Health system.

Ms. Daskevich earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Christian University and an MBA/MHA from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Senior Fellow in American Leadership Forum. She was recognized as one of Houston’s Most Influential Women in 2011 by Houston Woman magazine and received the Courage in Leadership award from the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce in 2018, the Women’s Leadership Award from San Antonio Business Journal in 2019, the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) 2020 Grassroots Champion award and Texas Hospital Association’s (THA) HOSPAC Star award in 2022.

Ms. Daskevich currently serves on the board and Executive Committee of THA, chairs the Learning and Engagement Committee for the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), and is a member of the Haven for Hope board of directors in San Antonio, and the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Board. She is the immediate past chair of AHA’s Committee on Maternal and Child Health (MCH). Cris previously served on the Children’s Hospital Association of Texas (CHAT) board, the AHA Regional Policy Board 7, and was the Chair of THA’s political action committee, HOSPAC. She is a member of the Texas Business Leadership Council (TBLC) and the San Antonio Business Forum and will serve as a member of Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) board in 2025.

Cris and her husband, Phillip, are the proud parents of 19-year-old Caroline and 17-year-old Dillon. As a family they enjoy vacationing in the great outdoors – hiking, mountain biking, snow skiing, hunting, fishing, and spending time together at the lake.

David L. Callender, M.D., MBA, FACS
President
Memorial Hermann Health System
Houston, TX

Dr. David L. Callender is President & CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in Southeast Texas with more than 250 care delivery sites, including 17 hospitals across Greater Houston.

With a workforce of more than 34,000 employees and 6,400 affiliated physicians, Memorial Hermann is committed to delivering the highest standards of safe, evidence-based, quality care to provide a personalized experience for its two million annual patient encounters. For over 115 years, Memorial Hermann has remained steadfast in its mission to improve health in the Greater Houston community, contributing nearly $500 million annually through various community health programs.

Since his appointment in 2019, Dr. Callender has spearheaded a multi-year strategy for Memorial Hermann aimed at enabling the entire health system to create more value for patients and populations; this includes delivering the greatest outcomes at an optimal cost, creating exceptional experiences for patients and a fulfilling work environment for its workforce, and improving health equity in the communities Memorial Hermann serves.

Beyond his role at Memorial Hermann, Dr. Callender is a tenured Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health). He serves on the Board of The United Way of Greater Houston and Longitude Health; a newly formed health care collaborative of which Memorial Hermann is a founding member. He also serves on the American Hospital Association’s Committee on Health Care Strategy and Innovation and the Greater Houston Partnership’s Health Care Advisory Committee and is a member of the University of Houston’s Board of Visitors.

Prior to joining Memorial Hermann, Dr. Callender served as President of UTMB Health for 12 years. Other previous roles include Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer for the UCLA Hospital System and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Callender’s exceptional leadership has garnered local and national recognition, including being named one of Houston’s “Most Admired CEOs” by the Houston Business Journal and earning a place on Modern Healthcare’s esteemed list of “The 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” in 2022 and 2023.

Dr. Callender earned his medical degree and completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine. He also completed an oncology fellowship with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and holds an MBA from the University of Houston.

Jorge Leal, FACHE
CEO
Laredo Medical Center

Jorge Leal, FACHE was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Laredo Medical Center in December 2020. Mr. Leal previously served as Chief Operating Officer at LMC since February 2016, and prior to that, as the Assistant Chief Executive Officer since July 2014, where he has played a key role in the growth of the hospital and its affiliated clinics. Under his leadership, he was responsible for hospital wide operations of laboratory, radiology, cancer center, employed physicians’ clinics, physical therapy, engineering, hospital based ambulatory surgery center, freestanding emergency room and hospital based outpatient imaging center. He has strong leadership experience gained through holding executive positions in Tyler, Gilmer and Quitman, Texas over the past 16 years.

Born in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Leal is a graduate of St. Augustine High School and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science and Master’s in Health Administration from Texas A&M University. He is excited to follow in the footsteps of his parents who are healthcare providers in Nuevo Laredo. His father, Ernesto Leal, MD, is a practicing physician, and his mother, Maria Teresa Leal, retired after 35 years serving as director of the Lab Department at ISSSTE Hospital.

Mr. Leal is involved in the community and serves on civic groups including, the Laredo Daybreak Rotary, Mercy Health Ministries – Past Chairman of the Board, United Way of Laredo- 2021-2022 Past President, Laredo Chamber of Commerce-Executive Board member, United Day School, Boys and Girls Club of Laredo and Laredo Country Club Finance Committee. Jorge currently serves as Board Member for the Texas Hospital Association HOSPAC and will serve as Vice Chair in 2024. Jorge has represented the State of Texas as Delegate for the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board 7. Jorge Leal is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and was part of the inaugural class of the Texas Hospital Association Leadership Fellows Program. Recently he was chosen as a 12 under 12 recipient from The Association of Former Students at Texas A&M for his outstanding contributions to his profession and for representing Texas A&M’s core values of excellence, integrity, leadership, loyalty, respect, and selfless service.

Jorge’s wife Arlene is a special education teacher with a specialization in Autism. Arlene and Jorge have a daughter Natalia and a son Jorge Ernesto. Jorge enjoys rooting for the Aggies, Spurs, Rangers, Cowboys, playing golf and spending time with his family and friends.

Winjie Tang Miao
Senior EVP & COO
Texas Health Resources
Arlington, TX

Winjie Tang Miao serves as senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Texas Health Resources. In her role, Miao is charged with fostering the evolution of the system’s core services and developing an integrated, high-performance delivery network that is consumer focused. She oversees Texas Health’s hospitals, physicians’ group and ambulatory and virtual care services, along with clinical excellence and network navigation functions.

Prior to assuming the chief operating officer position, Miao served as Texas Health’s chief experience officer, leading the organization in elevating the needs and preferences of consumers. Miao expanded access to services by opening new channels of care delivery when, where and how patients prefer. She led the organization’s Connected Health strategy and implementation and was integral in developing capabilities around data and insights, virtual patient experiences and customer relationship management competencies.

Miao joined Texas Health in 2000 as an administrative resident at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and served in a progression of leadership roles, including opening Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance as its inaugural president. She joined the system leadership team in 2015 as senior vice president of system integration and innovation and was instrumental in creating Reliable Care Blueprinting™, Texas Health’s approach to care design to deliver a safe, reliable and quality experience in every consumer encounter.

A biomedical engineering graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Miao also earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration, with a concentration in financial management and quality management, from the University of North Carolina.

Esmaeil Porsa, M.D., MBA, MPH, CCHP-A
President and Chief Executive Officer
Harris Health System
Houston, TX

Dr. Esmaeil Porsa serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer for Harris Health System, which is a community-focused, academic and safety-net healthcare system dedicated to improving the health of those most in need in Harris County, Texas, through quality care delivery, coordination of care, and education.

Harris Health operates 45 community-based clinics, health centers and specialty locations and two trauma hospitals: Ben Taub Hospital (Level I) and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital (Level III). The system provides high-quality care and treatment for nearly 1.4 million outpatient visits and more than 36,000 hospital cases each year with an operating budget of $2.9 billion.

Prior to his returning to Harris Health in 2020, Dr. Porsa served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Integration Officer at Parkland Health and Hospital System where he had worked since 2007 in different capacities including the Medical Director of the Dallas County Jail Health program, Associate Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Professional and Academic Affairs and Interim Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Porsa completed a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio before earning his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School in San Antonio. He completed his training in internal medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston where he also served as the Chief Medical Resident.

Dr. Porsa completed a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health as well as a fellowship program in primary care at the UTHSC-Houston medical school in 2005. Dr. Porsa obtained his MBA degree in Health Care Leadership from University of Texas in Dallas in 2017.

Dr. Porsa has a special interest in improving community health through addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) and health care delivery in a correctional setting. He currently serves as the Vice Chair for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and is a member of the Certified Correctional Health Care Professional Board of Trustees for the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC).

Melanie Ann Richburg, DNP
CEO
Lynn County Healthcare System
Tahoka, TX

Dr. Melanie Ann Richburg currently serves as CEO for Lynn County Healthcare System (LCHS) in Tahoka, Texas. Prior to transitioning into this role in 2018, Melanie worked as a Family Nurse Practitioner at the Family Wellness Rural Health Clinic for 16 years, serving not only the community of Tahoka, but many other rural communities in nearby counties on the South Plains.

Transplanting her love of rural health to this rural area for over 20 years, Melanie has leveraged resources to improve the infrastructure of healthcare offered to this population on a variety of levels. She has been a dedicated advocate in advanced practice nursing and leadership; ensuring nurses, staff and other healthcare professionals have the resources necessary on the front line of patient care, in conjunction with executive levels and state partners ensuring the community has access to emergency and inpatient care, and comprehensive preventive health services across the lifespan. More recently, Dr. Richburg has received grant funding from the FCC, USDA and academic clinical partners to assist in the placement of telemedicine equipment in schools, geriatric long-term care homes and correctional care units. Dr. Richburg has expanded primary care delivery sites across multiple counties in the communities of Post, New Home, Borden County and O’Donnell. In 2021, Lynn County Healthcare System received the prestigious recognition of becoming one of the “Top 20” Critical Access Hospitals in the nation by the National Rural Health Association. Dr. Richburg’s dedication to fulfilling the vision of LCHS is evident in that she and her teams have truly brought “Healthcare Closer to Home” … for more rural communities in Texas.

Melanie grew up on a 180-acre cotton farm in Rural West Texas and being able to make a difference in delivering healthcare to Rural America is a dream come true. “Love what you do… and do what you love” is one of her favorite sayings. Dr. Richburg loves Rural America and feels blessed every day she can give and share with her rural community.

Kevin Roberts, FACHE, RN
President/CEO
AdventHealth Central Texas and AdventHealth Rollins Brook
Killeen, TX

Kevin Roberts serves as market president and CEO for AdventHealth’s Central Texas operations. This includes responsibility for AdventHealth Central Texas in Killeen, AdventHealth Rollins Brook in Lampasas, and the affiliated ancillary services and physician enterprise. He is a seasoned hospital and healthcare executive, having served for 17 years as president and CEO of faith-based hospitals in Hawaii, California, and Texas. As a registered nurse by training, Kevin is passionate about clinical quality improvement, business development/growth, and developing high performing leadership cultures that accomplishes the healthcare mission every day.

Kevin has nursing degrees from Pacific Union College in Angwin, California and California State University of Sacramento. Additionally, he holds a master’s degree in public administration/healthcare services administration from the University of San Francisco. As a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, he formerly served as regent of the Hawaii/Pacific region.

An active member of the community in Central Texas, Kevin serves on the Texas Hospital Association’s Member Solutions and HOSPAC boards, Workforce Solutions Board, Texas A & M’s College of Business Advisory Council and is a member of The Rotary Club of Killeen Heights.

Roberts and his wife, Alena, have two grown children and five grandchildren. When not serving within the hospital and community, he enjoys faith-building activities, photography, playing guitar, mountain biking, hiking, and climbing.

Christopher (Chris) Siebenaler
Executive VP Network Hospitals
Houston Methodist

Chris Siebenaler is Executive Vice President of Network Hospitals for Houston Methodist, a nationally recognized hospital system. He has responsibility for hospital operations of seven community hospitals in the Houston area, which includes almost 20,000 employees, and is the lead executive for hospital patient experience initiatives across Houston Methodist.

Chris began his career in public accounting with PwC in the late 1980s working mainly as an auditor for large energy clients. After that, he began working in health care, and over the next 12 years, worked for several large for-profit hospital systems in Texas before moving to Houston in 2001 to join Houston Methodist as a community hospital-based Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. In 2007, Chris became Chief Executive Officer of Houston Methodist Sugar Land, expanding his role in 2014 with responsibilities for two more Houston Methodist community hospitals. In 2024, he was promoted to a newly created role, making him the lead executive of all community hospitals in the system.

Houston Methodist comprises a leading academic medical center in the Texas Medical Center, seven community hospitals serving the Greater Houston area, a research institute, a comprehensive residency program and a physician organization.

Pamela Stoyanoff, MBA, CPA, FACHE
President and Chief Operating Officer
Methodist Health System
Dallas, TX

Pamela Stoyanoff, MBA, CPA and FACHE and is currently President and Chief Operating Officer for the 12 hospital Methodist Health System in Dallas, Texas. In that role she leads strategic planning for the system and provides operational leadership for its hospitals, joint ventures and medical group. She is passionate about the Quadruple Aim and improving health by leading efforts that help to reduce health disparities.

She has been a member of numerous Boards including the Dallas Ft. Worth Hospital Council Education and Foundation Board, the Texas Hospital Association Board of Directors, the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Finance Committee.

Prior to coming to Dallas, Pam was the Chief Financial Officer for the St. Vincent Health System (4 hospitals) in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is originally from Chicago, Illinois and began her career at Arthur Anderson & Co.

Pam has her BS in Business Administration with a major in accounting, is a CPA and has her Master’s degree from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in Lake Forest, Illinois. She is also a FACHE.

Pam has spoken around the country on many topics including revenue cycle management, robotics, cost reduction strategies and diversity in healthcare supply procurement.

She has been voted one of the top “100 Women Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know” by Becker’s Hospital Review, one of the top 25 Women in Business in Dallas/Ft. Worth by the Dallas Business Journal and was also selected by the Dallas Business Journal as a Health Care Hero (in recognition of contributions toward improving health care in North Texas).